


Collection of One-shots (AoKaga)

by aoitoakai



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: AU, Fluff, M/M, One Shot, Possible Character Death, Romance, possible angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-11-29
Updated: 2015-05-10
Packaged: 2017-11-19 19:56:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 11,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/577059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aoitoakai/pseuds/aoitoakai
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One-shots and shorts that I've written for the basketball idiot couple. Many of these had been posted on tumblr already.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Unexpected

**Author's Note:**

> If this is a little bit OOC… I apologize for that too. I just wanted to write about a somewhat tsundere Aomine. xD  
> I'm not quite sure if i rated it T correctly for a few cuss words though.  
> Disclaimer: These characters belong to their respective owner.
> 
> Kagami has come down with a fever and Aomine has been called in to help him recover for a bit. Aomine-centric.

_How the hell did I end up babysitting this guy?_ Aomine wonders as he changes the towel over the sleeping redhead’s forehead. _I’m not a freakin’ nurse._

Just hours before, he had gotten a call from Tetsu asking him what he was doing last night. Confused, he answered, “I was playing one of my weekly one-on-one games with Bakagami, why?” It was the truth, Kagami and he had a one-on-one session scheduled three times a week, which soon became a sort of ritual they performed without fail. When this actually started happening, neither of them can remember.

“... Aomine-kun, you are aware that it was raining last night correct?” Something about the edge in Tetsu’s calm voice made Aomine be more cautious about his word choice before answering, “Yeah.”

There was an exasperated sigh at the other end. “I know both of you are basketball idiots, but you really need to take your health into consideration... Kagami-kun has come down with a fever.”

The dusky skinned teen paused before muttering, “That moron... Why are you telling me this anyways?”

“It is partially your fault that he came down with a sickness. He lives alone, so I want you to visit him and help him get better.”

Aomine stares at his cellphone incredulously. _Tetsu wants me to what?_

Sensing the other teen’s silence, Kuroko continues, “Our team just finished our visit, so now it is your turn. I’ll text you the address and we’ll let you in. Good-bye.” Leaving no room for argument, he hangs up leaving Aomine with his thoughts and a dial tone to listen to.

So here he was. Nursing the big oaf back to health. It wasn’t exactly how he had planned to spend his Saturday night. Sighing, he decided to take a look around the apartment since he really had nothing better to do.

It was actually quite different from what Aomine had imagined. The apartment itself was huge, but largely empty. The rooms only seemed to contain what was necessary and housed very plain looking furniture. Tetsu’s words echoed in his head, _he lives alone._

Staring out the window to the balcony overlooking the city lights he thought, _It’s sorta sad... Lonely even._ Returning to Kagami’s room he plops down on the swivel chair he had been sitting on earlier. Staring at the redhead's face he realizes that he doesn’t actually know that much about him. The only things he is sure of is that he eats like a whale, he is a basketball idiot, and that he is on good terms with Tetsu... Yeah, that’s pretty much it.

Kagami stirs a bit in his sleep and starts to move as if he were waking up. Surprised, Aomine nearly jumps out of his chair, but his ‘patient’ was simply turning over in his sleep. In the process, the towel that was once on his forehead flops onto the ground. Slightly irritated, he scoops up the discarded towel and throws it onto the desk. Little good that thing will do when he’s on his side like that.

The tanned teen returned his gaze back to his sleeping rival’s face and began noticing a few things. The expression that the redhead was wearing was peaceful, a total contrast to the scowl or glare that usually adorns his face. There was also a tint of pink on his cheeks, thanks to the fever no doubt. Aomine thought that, at the moment, he was actually pretty cute.

_… ‘Pretty cute?’ What the hell am I thinking?! That is a **guy** sleeping over there! ‘Cute’ isn’t supposed be used to describe him! He’s got no boobs, no nothing!_ The ace of Touo Academy violently shook his head and averted his eyes for a while.

Eventually his gaze returned to the sleeping one’s face and noticed that some of his hair had fallen over his eyes. Without thinking Aomine reached out, gently brushed the bangs back, and quickly pressed his lips against the now exposed skin. _Wait, what the fu-- ?!_ Unfortunately, immediately after he realized what he had unwittingly done, the light touch had already awakened the sleeping tiger. Kagami’s eyes fluttered open just in time to see a very flustered Aomine jerk backwards with a hand _still_ touching his hair.

Kagami, on the other hand, yelped in surprise and rolled backwards. The sudden action caused himself to smack his head onto the wall next to his bed. Aomine, now getting over what just happened, burst out laughing. Clutching his head, Kagami yelled, “Y-you... Stop laughing! What the hell are you doing in my room?! A-and earlier..?! I-I... Y-you...!” His already pink cheeks reddened even further at the memory.

“Are you sure you weren’t dreaming, Bakagami?” Aomine shrugs at the accusation. “I’m only here because Tetsu asked me to. Nothing more.” Swirling in his chair he adds, “Only an idiot would get sick in the rain like that.”

The prior events swiftly forgotten, Kagami shouts, “Haa? Who is the idiot, Assholemine?! You-- !!” He was stopped mid-sentence by a coughing fit and slumped against the bed headrest.

Smirking, the blue haired teen gets up and heads towards the door. “You better calm down or you won’t get any better, dumbass. Tetsu told me to give you some soup when you woke up, so just stay there.” With that he disappears into the hallway before he could hear the other’s reply. Once he reaches the kitchen, he stops trying to hiding the blush that was threatening to show itself earlier. _Dammit, that was close. What the heck is wrong with me?_

Leaning against the counter with his head in his hands, he replays the events in his head. _But, damn that guy can be frickin’ cute sometimes._ Banging his head against the counter a few times, he finally throws the container that Tetsu had given him earlier into the microwave and brings it back to Kagami.

“Thanks... What happened to you?” Suppressing a laugh, he made a gesture towards the new bruise that was forming on the tanned teen’s forehead.

“Che, that’s none of your business.” Aomine retorted and returned to his chair. “Hurry up and eat so I can go home.”

“Jeez, as friendly as ever.” Kagami rolls his eyes and finishes the soup in a flash. Afterwards, he sees Aomine to the door and as he was leaving quietly mutters, “I... Uh... Thanks for taking care of me.”

The line was said so softly that Aomine nearly missed it. Jerking his head back he asked, “What did you just say?”

Kagami, already in the process of shutting the door, quickly replied, “... I said, don’t get mugged on your way home, Ahomine!” With that, he slammed the door before Aomine could process what had been said.

_Dammit, Kagami. You just keep surprising me today._ With an irritated sigh, Aomine begins his trek home with new, and strange thoughts occupying his mind.

_You are just too damned adorable sometimes._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Extra:

Kagami sinks down, leaning against his front door for support. His face was a new kind of red, and it wasn’t completely due to his fever. _What the hell was that all about...?_

He pressed a hand against his forehead and rubbed it. _I can still feel his touch. That guy... I know I wasn’t dreaming._

Sighing, he gets up and returns to his bed. Slipping under the covers, his last thoughts before drifting off to sleep again were wishes to get better faster. _The faster I recover, the faster I can get back to playing one-on-one’s with Aomine..._

Kagami slept very well that night.


	2. I'm Home

Kagami wrestled with his grocery bags trying to reach for his keys in his back pocket. After successfully fishing them out and unlocking the door, he was greeted with a familiar silence and darkness.  
  
He half-heartedly mumbled, “I’m back," to himself. However, to his utter surprise, from the blackness a low voice responded, “Welcome back."  
  
Adjusting his eyes to the lighting, Kagami was able to make out the outline of somebody sitting on his couch. Taking a second to register who it was, he nearly dropped his bags onto the floor as he flicked on the lights.  
  
"Ahomine! How the hell did you get in here?!" He glared at his unexpected guest as he made his way to the kitchen to drop off his bags.  
  
The man in question merely chuckled and rolled his eyes. "I picked the lock, how else would I get in?"  
  
"That’s not how people normally get into places, dumbass. I don’t even want to  _know_  where you learned to do that." Kagami returned from the kitchen with bottled water that he proceeded to smack his companion with.  
  
"Ow! Tch, it would be easier to legally get into my  _frickin’ boyfriend’s apartment_  if I had a key ya know!" He rubbed his head and snatched the bottle with his free hand, muttering curses under his breath.  
  
Reddening slightly at the boyfriend comment Kagami sighed audibly. “Hmph, you are so damn impatient. I was going to give this to you tomorrow but… Here, take it." Averting his eyes, the redhead held out a small silver key attached to a blue string. Although he was trying his best to act nonchalant, his beet red face betrayed his intentions completely.  
  
Aomine's eyes widened in surprise as he reached out to accept the metallic offering. He pressed the object to his lips before proudly displaying it around his neck. Kagami had his key on a crimson string around his neck already, alongside his chained ring.

As Aomine leaned in to passionately attack Kagami’s lips, their matching necklaces clinked together pleasantly. “It’s about damn time, Taiga!"

Grinning, the redhead simply replied, “Welcome home, Daiki."


	3. Too Late

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Genre: Angst/Future AU/Major character death  
> Summary: Kagami is late to meeting Aomine for dinner. When he finds out the reason why, he really wishes that he hadn’t.  
> A/N: SO. I wrote angst. I’m sorry ahead of time. I saw something on pixiv and I couldn’t get it out of my head… I didn’t mean for it to get so dark though…. o.o
> 
> Inspired by the comic found in this log: http://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=manga_big&illust_id=32548729&page=24 
> 
> (You can find it towards the bottom of the log, page 25 out of 33).

Aomine furrowed his brow as he stared intently at his phone. He had been standing outside of Maji Burger for a little more than an hour now, and was garnering a lot of unwanted attention; mostly from people who were under the impression that he was a poor soul who had been stood up on a date.  _Argh… And he was the one trying to make sure I would be on time! Frickin’ Bakagami._ He tapped out a quick text telling his partner to hurry up with his business before angrily snapping his phone shut, ignoring the pitying glances he received from those who passed by.

Kagami had texted him forty-five minutes ago apologizing because practice had run late, and that he was on his way to meet up with him now. Surely, it shouldn’t take this long to reach his favorite burger joint… and reunite with his favorite tanned male…?

The cool night air enveloped his body, effectively numbing his face and digits. The wind just seemed to blow right through him. Shivering, Aomine decided to warm up by taking another look around, just to make sure that he didn’t miss seeing his red haired idiot somewhere.

But, even after searching the area, there was still no sign of him. This wasn’t like Kagami at all. The trip from the school to the restaurant shouldn’t have taken more than fifteen to twenty minutes at most. Irritated and a bit concerned, the tan male plopped down onto a nearby park bench and whipped out his phone once more. No messages. Just as he was about to call him, his dark blue phone buzzed to life with a text from Kagami.  _Finally. He better be right around the corner or something._

Aomine frowned when he opened it. The text message was a single line that seemed to be nonsense at first glance… or maybe an address…? But why? It had already been established that they were going to meet here, so why change the location?  _That idiot, did he butt text me while I’m here worrying about him?! Wait… he managed to butt add a pic to the text too…?_

However, upon viewing the photo, Aomine’s irritated scowl turned into an expression of pure rage. There, glowing on his phone’s screen, was Kagami’s bloodied and bruised face; his uniform disheveled and caked with mud. The redhead had his eyes closed, mouth slightly ajar signifying that the abuse he had endured had been overwhelming. His hands were constricted above his head with rope, and his head was being forced to face forward with calloused hands. (The clothing on that arm looked familiar though… A Kaijou uniform maybe…?) The final straw was located in the bottom right hand corner of the snapshot. One of them actually had the gall to form a peace sign in front of his battered boyfriend’s face.  _Sick bastards! Those fuckers are dead!_

Aomine leaped off the bench and bolted in the direction of Seirin. He didn’t exactly know where the address he was given was, but it would be a safe bet to check along Kagami’s normal routes. It couldn’t have been too far from there. 

During his frantic sprint, he speed-dialed Kagami. One of the assholes possessing a voice similar to the sound of dying cat decided to answer. “Look who decided to call. Are you this guy’s knight in shining armor coming to the rescue?” He could hear the rest of the group’s disgusting cackling in the background.

“I don’t know who you dickheads are, but I’m heading over there to kick all of your smug ass faces into the pavement! Your funerals won’t be open casket, ya hear me?! Not even your ratty ass mothers will recognize you!” Aomine was screaming obscenities as he ran.

Their increasingly sickening laughs were now accompanied by the sound of dull thuds and grunts that only served to make Aomine’s blood boil hotter. “Stop hurting him if you know what’s good for you, you low-life fucks!” Before he could bark more insults, he could hear Kagami’s weak groans as he gathered the strength to utter Aomine’s name before the line went dead. 

That single plea was heart shattering.

The voice that only hours before had been so full of life, now sounded so miserable, weak, and worst of all, afraid. Never, in all the years that he had been with the redhead had he heard his voice sound like  _that_. Kagami was mature enough to take care of himself and possessed enough courage to make his zodiac animal proud. Something was horribly wrong and Aomine could feel a sinking sensation in his stomach as he neared his destination.

It wasn’t a difficult building to find, although it was a little out of the way. A desolate, metal building that hadn’t been occupied for years. Perhaps in its glory days it had been a successful factory, but now it was perfect for some punks to take refuge in. Lonely and quiet.

In fact, it felt like it was  _too_  quiet. The only sounds Aomine could hear was the pounding of the blood in his veins, his own ragged breaths, and the harsh wind that blew through the dark neighborhood. Kagami must have been jumped when he was taking a shortcut through this street.  _Dammit! I should’ve just waited for him at his school!_

Clenching his fists, Aomine darted inside. Knowing how thugs normally operate, he would probably be able to find them in the underground levels, away from curious eyes and ears. Inside, the air smelled overwhelmingly of iron and dust. As he approached the stairwell, he could tell that his guess had been right. Lamps along the walls of the winding path that descended downwards had been lit, acting as a guide for the sapphire haired teen, which he gladly accepted.

At the bottom of the staircase, was a single room. The door had long fallen off it’s hinges and lay forgotten off to the side. Next to it were metal pipes that looked like they had traces of some rust and… blood? He hoped he was wrong. Steeling his nerves for his attack, he burst into the small room, fists at the ready. “Kagami!”

However, after taking a quick look around, it was obvious that the perpetrators were nowhere to be seen.  _The sons of bitches got away…!_  Spotting his redhead’s worn body in the corner, he instinctively rushed towards him and began gently untying his bindings. 

As the text had suggested, Kagami’s arms had been bound to some rusted pipes that ran along the length of the wall, but the picture had failed to capture the entire tragedy. Kagami’s eyes were dull, half-lidded, and unfocused; his breathing shallow and rigid. He was fighting hard to remain conscious.

The second Aomine finished untying that last knot, he brought the injured man’s head to his chest and embraced him. His limp body was heavy against Aomine’s heart. 

While repeatedly kissing his cheek, nose, and forehead, Aomine whispered reassuring phrases into the other’s ear. “Ao… mine… I-I’m so… sorry… I…” Tears ran down Kagami’s face mixing with the dirt and blood before staining his shirt.

“No, shhh. It’s not your fault, save your energy.” Using the sleeve of his jacket, he carefully cleaned his lover’s dirtied face, and dried his tears. Aomine was about to help the injured man sit upright by placing a hand on the other’s abdomen but stopped abruptly when Kagami inhaled sharply and hissed. Looking down, he noticed that a dark, sticky substance now coated his hand. He froze, eyes widening as he made the terrible realization.

_Fuck, fuck, fuck! How could I have been so stupidly careless?!_ Aomine cursed at himself for not noticing sooner. He had been so preoccupied with the fact that Kagami was back in his arms, that he had neglected to check his wounds. Aomine had naively hoped that the redhead had only sustained a few cuts and bruises; nothing life threatening. If Aomine had felt cold before, he was now freezing with a different kind of numbness that swept his body.

He maneuvered Kagami so that he was lying down while using his bag as a makeshift pillow and, slipping out of his jacket, draped it over his chest in an attempt to keep him warmer. Aomine gingerly lifted up his shirt so he could examine the wound. A lump formed in the blue haired teen’s throat. The stab wound was deep, and it looked like a bit of time had passed since it had been inflicted.  _Shit! I have to apply pressure or something…!_ Even with his limited medical knowledge, he knew that much. 

Aomine didn’t have any clean bandages so he stripped off his shirt and used it as a makeshift one. Folding it as best as he could, he pressed the white cloth to the injury and slowly began to apply pressure. He continued whispering reassurances to Kagami as he fumbled with his phone and tried calling for an ambulance. Just then, he suddenly remembered that they were underground. It would be difficult to get a good signal from there.  _This isn’t good, there’s no way he’ll make it up the stairs. He might lose more blood trying. But… I can’t just leave him here._

After a quick mental debate he ultimately decided that trying to move Kagami now would be a terrible mistake. “Taiga, I’m going to go above ground real fast to call an ambulance, keep this pressed against your wound, okay? I’ll be back as soon as I can. You’ll be just fine.” He received a slow nod in response.

Sprinting upstairs, Aomine made the necessary calls before rushing back to his partner’s side. Although he had done as Aomine had asked, the redhead was looking worse and worse by the second. Aomine covered the lighter skinned male’s hand with his own and steadied the shaking hand, adding more pressure to the now bloody cloth.

“Dai… ki… I-I… love… y… ou…” Kagami’s face was beginning to get even paler and his voice was quieting. The heat in his hands were fading.

_Aomine used to love the color red. Because it was his lover’s color. A color that represented his warmth._

“N-no! Taiga! Stay with me! Help will be here soon alright, so just hang on! I love you too, you big oaf! So I know you’ll be alright!” Aomine cupped Kagami’s face in his hands and brought their lips together for a desperate kiss. It tasted like copper. “They can save you…! J-just focus on my face for now, okay?”

_The blood, there’s so much damn blood._

Kagami gave a weak, sad smile and slowly closed his eyes. He looked so peaceful, as if he was merely sleeping.

_The dark-red puddle was seeping into the cold ground._

When the police and ambulance arrived onto the scene, they found a hysteric, half-naked teen cradling the body of another. Pronounced dead at the scene, it took two men to restrain Aomine from attacking the doctor and paramedics. “No! There has to be something you guys can do! Don’t just give up on him! Fuck, please! Just…! Just please do something!”

_Everything was drenched in crimson._

But, he could only watch in horror as they covered his motionless tiger with a white sheet. This time, it took four men to restrain him from jumping towards the body.

_Before fading to white._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the months that followed, Aomine underwent a few changes. He shockingly now refused to play basketball. Merely touching the ball would cause the tanned male to remember the cheerful voice that used to accompany him daily. Perhaps in the distant future, he would be able to resume his life’s hobby… but it was impossible for him until then.

Up to that point in his life, he had never shed many tears. But after attending the funeral and dragging himself back to their shared apartment, he punched a hole in the wall in their bedroom wall. His silent tears evolved into choked sobs and half-pleading curses into Kagami’s pillow. In that night alone, he felt that he had cried enough tears to last him a lifetime. Why did that have to happen to Kagami? Why, why,  _why_?!

From what the authorities had told him, Kagami had been the latest victim in a series of robberies and murders that had been occurring in the area recently. Teenagers were the victim of choice. The wounds that they suffered from implied several guilty parties and the use of weapons. They would then be dumped in a remote area, barely still alive, where they were left to die, alone.

After hearing that the case was not making any progress due to lack of evidence, Aomine made a decision. If the current system couldn’t bring the killers to justice, then he would just have to improve the system so that it could. Aomine had been at the scene of the crime, he had evidence in the form of a picture, and finally, he had actually heard the voices of the murderers. Aomine doubts he would ever be able to forget the terrible sound. If anyone would be able to find them, it would have to be him. 

In fact, he realized that he didn’t just want to stop there. The soul ripping pain that he had endured was something he did not want others to experience either. Not just from this case, but from other cases with other criminals as well. It’s too cruel.

Because of this newfound revelation, he attended a police academy and was able to join the force immediately afterwards (partially thanks to his amazing physical condition). The first time he donned his uniform and clipped on his badge, he was brimming with determination.

_You better watch out fuckers, Aomine Daiki is going to make sure you all get what you deserve._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The ending was sorta rushed because I didn’t originally plan for this to get so… dark. Aomine was just supposed to kick the bad guy’s ass and then save the damsel in distress but somewhere along the way it turned into this. Q.Q


	4. Warmth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Something light in comparison to the previous one-shot.

Aomine returned home one night to discover Kagami latched onto a large pillow with a trail of drool leaking from his slightly parted lips.  
  
Taking out his cell, he snapped a few pictures of Kagami’s blissfully unaware figure. This would be great for blackmail. Or a wallpaper. It really would depend on his mood at the time.   
  
Tonight, Aomine decided to be nice.  
  
It’s true that Aomine enjoyed their daily banter with one another, but he was also secretly fond of these rare, peaceful occasions. He might as well take advantage of the sweet opportunity he had been given.  _Why hug a pillow when there’s something much better standing right here?_   Smirking, he grabbed hold of the cushion and carelessly tossed it aside.   
  
Frowning at the sudden lack of physical contact, but still too groggy to open his eyes, Kagami’s hands searched the mattress for his discarded companion.

Seizing his chance, Aomine slipped into their bed sheets and draped one of the redhead’s arms around his torso. After making himself comfortable, he wrapped his protective arms around his sleeping tiger, entangling their legs in the process.

Kagami, taking in Aomine’s familiar scent, unconsciously tightened his grasp around the tan male; his lips curling into a smile. Aomine simply chuckled and ran a hand soothingly through his partner’s deep red locks, occasionally scratching his scalp.   
  
Sighing contentedly, Kagami nuzzled closer into that warm embrace and fell deeper into the pleasant land of slumber.


	5. AoKaga Day (5/10)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just sorta wanted a quick fic where the two (or Aomine in this case) shipped themselves. xD

After their weekly one-on-one with one another, Kagami and Aomine ended up drifting to redhead’s apartment. Their bodies were simply following the routine that had been etched into their beings through countless repetition.

The two had showered, eaten Kagami’s home made dinner, and were just relaxing before it was time to go to bed. At the moment, Kagami had his eyes glued to the television screen as he became completely engrossed in a re-run of a game.  
  
Meanwhile, Aomine had his head resting comfortably on his companion’s thigh while he leafed disinterestedly through a magazine. As he was turning to the next page, he had a sudden realization and tilted his head back to look at Kagami. “Hey, what’s the date today?"

Not moving his eyes from the screen Kagami answered, “It’s May 10th, why? Did you have something important that you needed to do today?"   
  
Aomine smirked and tossed his magazine onto the coffee table. “Hmm, I suppose you could say that I have  _someone to do_ …" Snickering, he got up from Kagami’s lap to face him and continued. “You know how our uniform numbers are five and ten? That just so happens to be the date today, right? It’s like it’s a special day just for us… So we should do something  _special_  to celebrate, don’t you think?"  
  
Dropping the remote, Kagami finally turned his widened eyes away from the game he was watching; his face flushed from the insinuation  “W-what?! That’s stupid reasoning. The more you talk, the more you live up to your name, Ahomine."  
  
"C’mon! I’ve seen something like this online. Girls seem to do this thing with the numbers all the time. We’ve been going out for a long time now, but you never let me go all the way! Today should be the perfect day to do it!" Aomine’s voice dropped an octave. “I’ll screw you so hard, you won’t even be able to remember your own name."  
  
"N-no! W-wait! Why do you get to top!?" Kagami could feel his heart rate shoot through the roof.  
  
"Isn’t it obvious? The five comes before the ten, duh." Aomine rolled his eyes.  
  
"Just because of that?!" Kagami face palmed.

He couldn’t deny that he had wanted to connect their bodies several times during the past few months, but was unable to bring himself to go through with it. His fear that after Aomine had slept with him, he would lose interest in him afterwards was strong.  
  
However, after gazing into those sapphire eyes that he had grown to love so much, he realized how serious Aomine was about the entire affair. Frankly, it was surprising that the ace of Touou hadn’t ignored Kagami’s pleas and had simply taken him already.  _The amount of restraint he has shown should mean something… So…. Maybe…_

Kagami was so quiet that Aomine decided to add in, “Please." He clasped their hands together; his face mere inches away from Kagami’s.

After a few more minutes of internal conflict, Kagami slowly nodded his head. "… Fine."  As it is true that Aomine has a difficult time saying no to Kagami, the opposite holds true as well. He just wouldn’t verbally admit to it. 

Shouting for joy, Aomine fist pumped the air before capturing Kagami’s lips with an uncharacteristically gentle kiss; his hands had already began to explore his new territory.  
  
But before Aomine was able to completely snake a hand up Kagami’s shirt, he was stopped. “So… Um… On October 5th… Does that mean I get to top then?" He couldn’t hide his mischievous (and hopeful) grin from his lover.  
  
Now, it was Aomine’s turn to be surprised. Running a hand through his hair, he tried to think of some kind of rebuttal, but to no avail. If he says the wrong thing now, it would kill the mood. __  
  
"… I’ll think about it." Was Aomine’s reply before swiftly hoisting his lover over his shoulder (much to Kagami’s dismay) and walking to their bedroom.

Naturally, Kagami got his wish in October.


	6. Playing With Fire

Aomine stared blankly at the scorched land and charred remains in his backyard.  _I didn’t mean for this to happen._

The police, firemen, and curious onlookers that had been buzzing around the area had already left, save for one man. Sighing, the lone firefighter exclaimed, “What were you thinking? That burning tree could have hit you when it fell! What if you had gotten hurt you stupid bastard?!” He glared as he shoved his soot covered gloves into his pocket, and massaged his temples.  
  
Aomine shifted his gaze from the disaster area to return the glare. “Hey! It wasn’t my... I mean this wasn’t how... Shit...” His face fell and in an uncharacteristically dejected tone he continued, “I mean... I just wanted to celebrate your birthday with a bang, ya know...?”

_He looks like a kid that got caught breaking an expensive vase or something._  Sighing once more, Kagami shrugged off his protective coat and tossed it onto their porch. “I nearly lost my shit when I heard that our house was the one with the fire.” He wrapped his arms around the police officer’s waist and closed the distance between them. “I mean, I appreciate the sentiment I really do. It’s just that... I don’t know what I would have done if you had hurt yourself or something...” Kagami dropped his head onto Aomine’s shoulder, taking in his comforting scent to calm his shaky nerves.

Aomine mimicked the action and tightened the embrace, feeling the erratic pace of Kagami’s pulse against his own.  _Damn, I really screwed up this time._  
  
Gently pushing a hand through Kagami’s hair Aomine mumbled, “I promise not to pull a stunt like that again.”  
  
That was the closest Kagami would ever get as a verbal apology, and he gladly accepted it. “... Well, c’mon let’s go inside. It smells like my work out here.” Kagami led Aomine inside their house by the hand with a small chuckle. “We’ll clean this up first thing tomorrow. Only fair that you do most of the work though.”

“What?! ... Tch, yeah, yeah.” Aomine returned the laugh. He was relieved that the color was returning to Kagami’s face; the earlier tension had been forgiven and forgotten for the time being.

After they were safely inside and relaxed on the couch, Aomine took Kagami’s palm and brushed light kisses into it, never breaking eye contact with him. Kagami shivered. Aomine then began rubbing small circles into it as he slowly traveled up Kagami’s arm, relaxing the muscles as he went. While Aomine’s hands carefully worked out the knots in Kagami’s arms, back, and legs, his lips traced the redhead’s collarbone and neck when they were given the opportunity.

Kagami could do nothing more than close his eyes and whimper at the soothing touches. He surely wasn’t expecting this kind of treatment from his boyfriend at all.

When Aomine felt that Kagami had been thoroughly relaxed, he, “I know it hasn’t been all that great so far and I don’t have a present anymore but... Happy birthday, Taiga.”

“No, having you here is good enough for me.” He could feel the heat rise to his ears, after delivering the cheesy (but true) line. In a hushed tone, he continued, “Thank you.” Kagami gave a beautiful smile before softly pressing his lips against Aomine’s.

It was intended to be a chaste kiss but, naturally, Aomine had other ideas. As Kagami began to pull back, he followed the backwards movement and deepened the contact. Licking his bottom lip, he willed Kagami to give him permission to part his lips. The exchange was sweet, unlike their usual fierce battles for dominance, but passionate nonetheless.  
  
Breaking the kiss, Aomine breathily whispered into Kagami’s ear, “I know that you weren’t able to see the fireworks that I had planned for you... But, I could show you an entirely different kind of fireworks. The best  _fireworks_  you’ve ever had in your life, if you catch my drift.” Kagami rolled his eyes at the lame insinuation, but he couldn’t hide the smile that tugged at his lips. Aomine grinned and guided his laughing boyfriend into the bedroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy birthday to Kagami~ I actually have no idea where this idea came from. I just wanted Aomine to accidentally start a fire using fireworks... Which are actually legal in some parts of Japan? I'm not all to clear on that, but I hope you enjoyed nevertheless. xD


	7. Surprise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m late and this is OOC and there are grammar mistakes and rushed and long and boring and... Ugh, I just hope this makes sense.
> 
> Happy belated birthday, Ahomine.

“Ah, what a drag...” Aomine grumbled as he re-adjusted the shopping bags on his arms. “If Kagami hadn’t wimped out on our one-on-one today, I would be playing right now...”

Staring out the glass ceiling of the mall, he could see the sun shining brightly and not a cloud in the sky. It’s the perfect weather for basketball, and yet here he was, being Momoi’s personal slave for the afternoon. _The things this girl talks me into doing..._

A mere thirty minutes into this shopping spree, and he was already quickly losing interest in his assigned task. Not that he had much to begin with.

Deliberately slowing his pace, he stared into a nearby shoe store. _Ooh... The new model is out already? I’ll have to save up for that then..._ He was already calculating the number of allowances he would need in his head. _Damn. I might have to sacrifice Mai-chan’s new album... Ahhh... What to do..._

Momoi, who had noticed that he had been falling behind her, called out to him while Aomine gave an unabashed yawn. “Dai-chan, did you hear what I said?!” She pouted slightly as she tugged him along with her. Aomine simply nodded in response to her disdain, while his eyes and mind wandered in an attempt to make the trip a bit more bearable. Going clothes shopping was definitely not one of his hobbies.

After passing through the food court, he caught a glimpse of crimson in one of the store windows. Ignoring Momoi’s questions, he tossed the bags into her arms and began striding towards the store that he had seen his rival in. _He blew me off to go shopping?!_ Hell, was shopping at the mall more important than their matches together?!  
  
 _I’m gonna sock him in his--! ... Huh?_ Aomine stopped mid-step when he noticed that Kagami was not alone. He was laughing with someone else... _A hot, blonde chick is hanging off his arm?! Why?! ... Actually, how did he manage to score someone like that?!_

Aomine took a reluctant moment to consider Kagami in more detail. A naive, teenage boy who loves basketball and cheese burgers... No, there was more to him than that. An honest, strong-willed guy who acts on pure instincts and raw passion. A kind guy, who’s got a rough nature and yet, is reduced to a quivering puddle in the presence of canines of any kind. A guy with a cheerful disposition, and a heart warming smile that could light up the room...

As difficult as it was to concede, Kagami was actually a pretty attractive dude.

Just then, the stranger leaned into Kagami’s ear, effectively snapping Aomine from his thoughts. She whispered something with a sly smile on her face, causing Kagami to burst into a bright shade of pink. He yelled at her as she innocently strode away, causing other customers to stop and stare at him. After apologizing to them, the two of them soon became distracted by another product in the shop and vanished from view.

A swirl of emotions swelled in Aomine’s chest. It was a strange mixture of anger, surprise, confusion, and what was that last one...? Betrayal? No... Not quite. It was difficult to place... Or rather, he didn’t want to admit it.

Whatever is was, it made him feel sick to his stomach.

As he was about to pursue them, Momoi finally caught up to him. “Dai-chan! What’s wrong? You just ran off without saying anything.” With a concerned expression, she tilted her head questioningly.

“Ah... I... I thought I saw someone I knew, but they’re gone now. C’mon...” He grabbed the bags from her arm, “Let’s get going. We’ll never finish at this rate.”

Aomine didn’t remember much of the rest of the trip. He was too preoccupied with what he had seen earlier. However, it wasn’t the scene itself that was perplexing him anymore. Rather, it was the fact that he was still thinking about it at all.

His confusion alone shouldn’t have warranted this kind of uneasiness, and yet here he was, staring up at the ceiling from his bed in the middle of the night thinking about it. _Why?_

So Kagami decided to ditch him to go shopping -- fine. He decided to hang out with some woman too -- whatever. Kagami’s reddened face flashed in Aomine’s memory, burning the image into his mind... Was that what was bothering him? What did she say to make him look like that? More importantly, why did that matter to him at all...?

Kagami can spend time with his other friends if he wants to and it shouldn’t be any of Aomine’s business... _Wait, friend...? We’re friends?_ Since when did Aomine consider himself to be one of Kagami’s friends?

Actually... When did they start hanging out so much? When did Kagami become the person he texted the most? Talked with the most? Laughed with the most? Depended on the most...?

Sure, their personalities clashed and they had a tendency to pick fights with each other. But, if Aomine was to be completely honest with himself, Kagami was probably the closest person to him at the moment (as much as he hated to accept). It was just so easy to be around him, so natural. It just felt... right.

Aomine widened his eyes. That strange feeling from earlier... could it have been... jealousy...? But that would make him...!? N-no! That’s ridiculous!

Refusing to even entertain the possibility, he violently shook those thoughts from his head. _Shit! All this heavy thinking is just giving me a massive headache!_ Rolling over to his side, he screwed his eyes shut and forced himself to go to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, Kagami shot him a text asking if he was free for the day and, before realizing what he had done, Aomine automatically replied that he was. _Shit, I didn’t actually want to see him again so soon after... Ahhh, fuck it._ It would be weird to back out after replying so fast, so he simply decided to grin and bear it.

When they met up, Kagami said he wanted to make it up to Aomine for ditching him yesterday. Odd, that. Since when did Kagami ever want to make anything up to _Aomine_ of all people? Whatever ulterior motives the redhead had in mind for Aomine, the latter decided to ignore it for the time being.

Naturally, Kagami meant to make it up to him through a basketball match, followed by dinner at his house. Nothing fancy, it was just the usual routine, really... Well, minus the fact that Kagami had made all of Aomine’s favorite foods today.

After settling at the dinner table, a long silence fell between them as they ate. Unable to take the lull in sound any further (the fact that they were alone in a room together was grating on his nerves!), Aomine ended up blurting out the questions that he had been bottling up. “So what were you doing yesterday that was so important anyways? Did you have a d-date or something?” Aomine mentally socked himself in the face. He tried to use a teasing tone, and yet, it sounded pretty desperate. How pathetic.

Kagami raised an eyebrow before swallowing his food and slowly answering. “A date...? Hah, not everyone is as popular with the ladies.” He gave Aomine a pointed look. “Nah, I just asked someone to help me with an errand yesterday... My bad.” Kagami flashed an apologetic smile before stuffing his cheeks with food once more.

“An “errand”, huh...?” While picking he was at his plate, he suddenly lost his appetite. The sinking, uneasy feeling had returned to his stomach. “An “errand” with that busty, blonde chick?” Aomine didn’t mean to sound demanding or interrogating, but he couldn’t help it. He wanted to know. He _had_ to know. “She was all over you, so it sure looked like a date to me.”

Kagami choked on his rice. “W-what?! You saw that?! Were you spying on us or something?” Kagami eyes looked so alarmed. Like he had been caught in a lie and was trying to find a way out of it. Just seeing Kagami react guilty like that forced that foreign emotion from the mall to build in Aomine’s chest once again. For cryin’ out loud, he felt like a jilted lover or something.

“I wasn’t spying, but I think I saw enough.”

“... Oh.” Kagami looked down. “I guess it won’t be much a surprise anymore then, huh?”

_What, it won’t be a surprise that you have a girlfriend?_ Aomine thought bitterly.

Instead of confirming the news Aomine had been dreading, Kagami produced a rectangular object that had been hidden beneath the table. It was a present, wrapped in shimmering sapphire paper and matching bow. Gently pushing the gift into Aomine’s frozen hands, Kagami grinned and said, “Happy birthday, Aomine.”  
  
“B-but... this... I thought... Was that... today...?” How did he forget?

“Jeez, what kind of idiot forgets that it’s their birthday? But then again, we are talking about _you_ here.” Aomine momentarily snapped out of his daze to shout a retort, but Kagami simply smirked and continued. “Uh... I was actually worried that you were gonna spend the day with someone else. Happy that you didn’t, though... Um, I mean... A-all the planning and stuff would have gone to waste, you know?” Kagami let out an airy, nervous laugh as he motioned towards the box. “Go ahead. Open it.”

Aomine eyed the (frankly) beautifully wrapped gift. Holding his breath, he tore open the package to find that it was, in actuality, a shoebox. Nestled inside were the Jordans that he had been ogling at the day before. “S-so that errand...?”  
  
“Y-yeah. We were trying to pick out your gift... It was tough choosing what to get you though. You don’t have those already do you?”  
  
“No... No, I don’t... But, that woman that you were with... I thought for sure she was your...! I mean, that face you made was--!”  
  
“Tch, are you still on that? You worry about the weirdest things at the weirdest times, Ahomine. Alex is just my basketball teacher from my time in the states, that’s all. I guess you could sorta say that she is what Momoi is to you. Like family.” A flush creeped up Kagami’s face, especially settling in his ears. “S-she was just teasing me about yo--... N-nevermind... It’s nothing.”  
  
Aomine was at a loss, for once. As the relief spread through his body after registering Kagami’s words, he became painfully aware that his heart had been pounding hard in his chest for a while now. Much to his dismay, the shocking revelations from the night before now seemed to be more and more likely to be true. Aomine suddenly became painfully aware of his sweaty smell, his wrinkled clothes, and the short distance that separated the two of them... Was he presentable? Did the redhead have similar thoughts running through their minds at all?

Kagami cleared his throat, startling Aomine enough to snap him out of his reverie. “I made a cake too... Uh, if you want it, that is.” He looked away, and scratched his cheek.

Aomine only half heard what Kagami said. He was too engrossed in watching the way Kagami’s face had bloomed with color. The way that he refused to meet his gaze. The way that his lips looked so...

Aomine’s pulse was so loud at this point that the beating of his heart was roaring in his ears. If he didn’t do something soon, he was going to lose his sanity.

“H-hey, Aomine...? You’re kinda frea--?!”

Acting on pure desire, Aomine abruptly leaned across the table and grabbed a handful of Kagami’s shirt. Reeling him in, Aomine closed the distance between their lips, much to Kagami’s surprise. Gripping Aomine’s wrist, Kagami had initially had the intention of breaking the contact, but felt his resolve weaken by the second. The bastard was a good kisser.

Fortunately, despite losing the battle of dominance, Kagami eventually gave in and become more responsive to his advances. Aomine was relentless in his attacks as he bit and sucked at those sweet lips until he was granted entrance to explore further. A privilege Kagami allowed him to have after he had done a bit of exploring of his own in the new territory.

When they parted, the only sounds they could hear were their ragged, uneven breathing and the rapid drumming in their veins. After they catching their breath, the reality of what had just transpired crashed onto them like cold waves.

“Ao-Aomine... You...? We...?” If Kagami’s face was red before, it was nothing compared to the shade he exhibited now.

Aomine was silent as he sank back into his chair and gingerly placed a hand over his lips. “I... I don’t know. I... M-maybe I should go...” He stood up abruptly and began collecting his things, but a hand reached out to stop him.  
  
“N-no! Uh, I mean... Do you think we could, uh, talk? I... There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you and I guess... now’s as good a time as any.” Kagami waited for Aomine to slowly nod his head before he led them to sit on the couch. Kagami took a deep breath before determinedly staring into Aomine’s eyes. “I... You’re the stupidest guy that I’ve met.” Aomine felt his jaw drop. _This_ is what he’s been waiting to tell me?! The bastard laughed at him a little just now!

However before Aomine could start his string of curses, Kagami didn’t stop talking there. “You’re the most arrogant, selfish, perverted, ganguro guy that I have ever met... But... you’re also pretty caring and considerate, in your own twisted way I mean, and you have the most mesmerizing basketball style out there. We’ve got loads in common, and even though you can be pretty spoiled sometimes, you can still be endearing at the same time. So, being with you every day is a lot of fun and it’s easy to talk to you and... And well, um... What I mean to say is... I...” He was rambling and his voice was cracking now. Kagami ran an agitated hand through his hair and took another deep breath before finally shouting, “I like you, dammit! I like you a lot! So I really hope that kiss earlier wasn’t just an experiment or something because I swear, I’m gonna shove my foot up your as--!”

Kagami almost didn’t see the hand that snaked it’s way behind his neck in order to reunite their lips. It was just like Aomine to convey what he wanted through actions, rather than words. Kagami knew that was the closest he was going to get to Aomine actually confessing back to him, and he gladly accepted it.  
  
Breaking off the kiss first, Aomine laughed. “You know, more than half of that so called confession rant was just you insulting me. I hope you realize the consequences for insulting someone as great and wonderful as myself.” Aomine was beaming. The twisting pain in Aomine’s stomach had subsided and was replaced by a warmth that spread pleasantly throughout his body.

Kagami smacked him over the head and smirked. “Pfft, I was just telling you the truth. Your “consequences” don’t scare me.” He stuck out his tongue.

They playfully wrestled with each other, rolling off the couch and knocking into the coffee table before eventually settling comfortably side by side on the floor. New bruises and all. “...I’m going to say it again, Aomine. Happy birthday.” Kagami leaned in and kissed him.

It was the best birthday Aomine had had, by far.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_Omake:_

“Alex, get a load of this guy.” Kagami held up an article in the magazine that he had been thumbing through. They had been searching for Aomine’s present for a while now, it’s alright to get distracted every once and awhile. They had the whole day to look around.  
  
“Oh my god.” Alex started to giggle uncontrollably, causing Kagami to laugh alongside her. Laughter is contagious, something especially true for Kagami.

After the laughter subsided, Alex leaned on Kagami’s shoulder and whispered, “... So, have you finally decided what to get your boyfriend for his birthday?” She smirked.

“M-m-my... WHAT?!” Kagami felt the heat rush to his face and shouted in English, “He’s not my damn boyfriend, alright!?”  
  
“Mmm. Maybe not yet... Be a dear and confess so you can invite me to your wedding, yeah?” She chuckled as she skipped down another aisle.

Suddenly realizing the disturbance he had caused earlier, he bowed and apologized profusely to the other customers before chasing after his female tormentor.


	8. Evening Routine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just re-posting an entry I did for the OTP Battle hosted by basketballpoetsociety on tumblr.

“Hey, Kagami. Kiss me.”

Kagami stopped typing on his laptop just long enough to give his boyfriend a withering stare. “I told you to go brush your damn teeth thirty minutes ago. I don’t wanna be anywhere near your nasty mouth until then.”

“Jeez, _mom_. I was gonna do it eventually.” Aomine rolled onto his stomach and rested his face in his hands. “You know I like it when you wear those.” He smirked and pointed to his eyes. “It’s like you’re teasing me, so you should just kiss me now.”

Flushing, Kagami’s hands automatically reached up to fiddle with his glasses. “I’m not your mom! A-and you know I need these to read small stuff! I don’t use them just to seduce your sorry ass.”

“Yeah, yeah. You keep telling yourself that.” Still smirking, Aomine got up and sauntered over to their bathroom. Kagami simply rolled his eyes at his retreating figure. Five minutes later, Aomine returned and eagerly plopped onto Kagami’s legs. “There, did it. I hope you’re happy. Now, kiss.” Pushing the computer aside, he closed the distance between their lips.

At first, Kagami stubbornly clenched his teeth and refused to allow Aomine to take the lead. But thanks to Aomine’s persistent licking and sucking, he was finally granted entrance. Aomine’s victory was short lived however, because he suddenly found himself falling to the ground.

“Agh, shit… What the hell was that for?!” Aomine made a face as he attempted to rub away the pain in his posterior. “We were just getting to the good part!”

“I humored you. Now go brush your teeth for real, you’re starting to piss me off again.” Recollecting his laptop, Kagami unconsciously pushed his eyewear further up the bridge of his nose as if to make a point, and continued to finish his work.

“Wait, what? How could you tell?”

“I _still_ know the difference between breath mints and fresh breath, dumbass.”

“Damn, I thought for sure that it would work… You really do have mom senses...” Aomine crawled back onto Kagami’s legs once more. “I ate the whole box this time!”

“God dammit, get off! If you had just brushed your teeth instead of trying to be a smart ass, we wouldn’t have to go through this again! And don’t make me do it for you like last week!”

Aomine deadpanned. “… But that was kinda hot.” Looking up at the ceiling thoughtfully, he continued. “Besides, you sure weren’t complaining afterwards when you had your mouth on my di--”

Kagami unceremoniously kicked his partner off of the bed, where he promptly and ungracefully landed on his face.


	9. Like Father, Like Son

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Written for AoKaga Day 2014!

Aomine, who had been comfortably reclining in his seat just moments earlier, was now leaning his elbows on his knees, his face buried in his hands.

“The only one who can beat me, is me!”

The child in front of him continued to repeat the phrase with a gleeful expression on his face, unaware of the history behind those words, and oblivious to his father’s embarrassment.

Kagami, who had been smiling to himself in the kitchen, entered the room and interrupted the boy’s chant. “Okay, that’s enough of that. It’s time for your bath.”

“Aww, but Papa, I wanna watch more of Daddy’s games!” The five year-old tugged on Kagami’s pant leg and pouted.

“There’s plenty of time for that later.” Chuckling, he ruffled his son’s hair. “You know the rules. No bath means no dinner.”

“Yes, Papa.” Sighing, the boy obediently darted off towards his room.

Once he was safely out of earshot, Aomine hissed.“Of all of the matches you could have shown him, it just had to be  _that_  one?!” He lifted his face from his hands to glare at his husband.  
  
“He wanted to see ‘all of Daddy’s plays.’ How could I say no to that face?” Taking a seat on the chair’s armrest, he smirked. “Hell,  _you_  can’t say no to that face.” Kagami took hold of one of Aomine’s hands and interlocked their fingers.

“But that doesn’t mean—! I mean— Why do you even  _have_  these tapes?!” Although exasperated, Aomine made no move to separate their hands.

“Hmm, is it wrong to reminisce about what your husband used to be like as a teenager?”

“You’re avoiding the question!” Aomine jabbed an accusing finger in Kagami’s direction. “I swear that you’re doing this on purpose, you bas—!”

“Daddy, Papa? Are you fighting?”

The two men yelped at the sudden appearance of their son, but were quick to recover. “No, of course not. Just a little misunderstanding, okay?”

“Yeah. Did you need something? Do you want me to scrub your back for you?” Kagami made a move to stand up, but was stopped by a small hand on his.

“No, Papa! I’m a big boy!” He frowned and sped off towards the bathroom once more. “ _THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN BATHE ME, IS ME!_ ” Their son’s peals of laughter could be heard throughout the house.

Aomine groaned and slid onto the floor while Kagami, unable to hold back his mirth any longer, scrambled to fetch the video camera.


	10. The Costs of Battle

Screams and the sound of gunfire echoed throughout the dilapidated area. Kagami winced at the sound, but continued on, determined to see this mission through to the end. He’d already lost a few comrades early on in an ambush, and he didn’t want their previous efforts to be in vain. Especially when they were so close to achieving their goal.

He had been careful so far, taking out guys when he had a clear shot, but otherwise advancing along the advised route that he had been given. Sneaking into one of the abandoned buildings, he paused to take a glance out a window. It looked like it was clear, but he didn’t want to risk making any hasty moves, and ducked once more. Catching his breath, he chanced another look out the window before finally deciding it was safe enough to make a break for his next piece of cover. Crouching, he adjusted his mask and gun before preparing to make the leap. What he wasn’t counting on was the feeling of a cold barrel being pushed lightly against the back of his head. 

“It’s over.”

Kagami freezes, recognizing the voice, and cursing the gods for his luck. He was so sure that the building was clear before entering. Slowly, Kagami raised his arms and shifted to face his captor while still on his knees. His ruby eyes clash with waiting sapphire, and the sounds of the surrounding battle fade from his focus. 

Confirming his identity, Kagami snarls, “Aomine.” 

“It’s not like you to be this careless.” The dark skinned male was towering over his body, his eyes glittering behind his face mask.

“I wasn’t being careless.” The barrel of Aomine’s gun was still shoved annoyingly in Kagami’s face. “Maybe you just didn’t register as a big enough threat.” The redhead couldn’t help but smirk at the clear displeasure that crossed the taller man’s face.

“Well. Am I a big enough threat to you _now_ , Taiga?” Aomine lightly tapped the side of Kagami’s mask with the barrel, his finger resting on the trigger. He was enjoying the look of discomfort that flitted over his prisoner’s expression.

“I don’t know. Are you?” With that Kagami managed to leap away from the window and his captor to create some distance, his hands already tightly gripping the gun and preparing to shoot.

Likewise, Aomine recovered from the shock fast enough to turn and face the escapee. His eye already aiming down his target in the sights of his gun.

Both their fingers were on the trigger before--

_**Bang!** _

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Would either of you like to explain yourselves?” Riko was stood with a gun pointed directly at the aces, who were completely covered in paint.

“He shot my throat at nearly point blank first! That’s against the freakin’ rules!” Kagami rubbed his neck that was still dripping with blue paint and thrust a finger in Aomine’s direction.

Aomine scoffed, “Please, you’re such a drama queen. That wasn’t point blank range and you know it.”

“You were threatening to shoot with the gun to my head! How is that not point blank?!”

“You were already my prisoner though, I wouldn’t have needed to shoot if you didn’t try to break the rules and shoot me first!” Aomine growled, his hand grazing his collarbone that was now marked in red.

Kagami grabbed Aomine’s shirt and roared. “That’s bullshit, and you know it!”

“No, _you’re_ bullshit, and you know it!” Retaliating, Aomine grabbed a fistful of Kagami’s shirt and glared.

“Children!” Kagami and Aomine froze at the chorus of female voices and saw Momoi and Riko glaring daggers at them, arms crossed over their chests.

“That doesn’t excuse the fact that you guys kept shooting at each other even after it was clear that you were both “out.” You _do_ know what happens to those who break the rules in paintball, right?” Riko gave a chilling smile.

“Rules are rules. Even if it is you two.” Momoi agreed, a matching smile adorning her face.

The two aces felt a chill crawl down their spines.

“Alright, everyone! Ready your guns! Aomine and Kagami, go stand against that wall and remember to put your masks on!” The members of Seirin and Touou (minus Wakamatsu, who looked absolutely ecstatic) gave their aces apologetic looks.

“Wait, coa--!” Kagami feebly tried to make her reconsider.

“Ready? Fire!”

The two of them barely had enough time to put on their masks before they were assaulted with paintballs from friend and foe alike. After the time was up for their punishment, the pair was truly soaked to the core with paint. Aching everywhere and exhausted, they slumped against the wall, glaring at each other as they removed their face protectors.

“This is still all your fau--”

“--Do I hear a round two?” Riko interrupted, a sharp look in her eyes. When they averted their eyes and said nothing, she smirked and turned away.

When she was out of earshot, Kagami continued. “I hate you.”

“Yeah? Well, I hate you more.”

“Oh, yeah?! Well, I hate you the _most_.”

“Yeah?! Well, I--!”

“Will you two ever stop _flirting_ and get over here already?!” Hyuuga’s shouted before stomping over and whacking the two of them over the head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has been an idea I’ve had for a long time, but never got around to actually writing. I’ve only been paint balling once, and I had been shot in the throat, so I sympathize with Kagami. It huuuurts.
> 
> I also enjoy the idea that these two can be just huge man children. It amuses me.


	11. Please Come Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this one seems a bit OOC and weird. A happy AoKaga Day to everyone~

Business was slow today. Aomine stifled a yawn as he leaned against the cash register and tried to at least _look_ like he was being attentive, even if he was the only living soul in the building at the moment. His manager had thoroughly chewed him out last time he was caught reading magazines behind the counter, regardless of the lack of customers, and he’d rather not have to go through that again. 

But god, was he bored out of his skull. He just needed to last another hour or so before he could close up shop, but time always seems to move agonizingly slowly when you wanted to do... well, anything else. At that point, he would have been willing to accept bad company as opposed to no company. Hell, he wasn’t even supposed to be alone for this shift, but that damned Hanamiya had ditched him without even bothering to find a replacement. He wasn’t really fooling anyone when he said that he had food poisoning. Aomine had seen his stupid Facebook posts about going on some date today, _that son of a--_

He was snapped out of his murderous thoughts by a chime from the bell hanging on the front entrance, before remembering to call out a bored greeting to the newcomer. 

The customer turned out to be one of the store’s regulars, and Aomine slightly straightened his posture at the recognition. He seemed to be around the same age as Aomine with a similar body structure: tall, broad shoulders, and was built like an athlete. He had a handsome face and, when paired with his shock of crimson hair, unique eyebrows (they looked like apple slices, like seriously?), and ruby eyes, he was sure to attract attention wherever he went. He was different from the usual customers; people who wandered in by chance, just curiously looking at their wares, or men who were in a rush to buy new clothes and just get out as fast as possible. No, this man actually spent the time to look at the styles that they offered, spent the time actually trying the clothes on before buying it rather than just hoping that it would fit.

The man gave him a simple nod in response to his greeting and set out to look at their new stock. Aomine noticed that he was wearing the shirt that he had bought the last time that he had visited, and was secretly ecstatic. Would it bordering on stalker levels if he knew that? He had been fond of that shirt, the way it hugged the stranger’s curves should be illegal. Hell, the thoughts that he had about the guy should be illegal. Aomine never really exchanged more words than what was necessary with him, nor did he ever offer to help him look for clothes (because c’mon, _really?_ ). He doesn’t even know the guy’s name, but he couldn’t help noticing things about him.

For instance, the redhead had a pattern to his shopping. He would start with the left side of the store first, and snake his way to the back before glancing through the wares on the right. Furrowing his brow if he thought that a shirt didn’t suit his tastes, and simply staring at another for a while if he agreed with it. If he gazed at an article of clothing for a long amount of time, he was almost always certain to buy it. After collecting a handful of shirts over his arm, he would then make his way to the changing rooms.

Aomine wouldn’t ever admit it out loud, but he was thankful that the store’s two small changing stalls were lacking in individual mirrors. The manager had told him once that it was better to just have one to save expenses, thus explaining the large full size mirror that was placed near the stalls. Aomine had a nice view from the cash registers, although he would always wear an expression of disinterest as the redhead neared the stalls.

It was weird that he liked seeing the stranger wear different kinds of clothes. It was weird how damn good the stranger looked in that long sleeve. It was weird how he liked the way those jeans fit the stranger’s rear perfectly. Aomine licked his lips. It was weird in a good way.

Aomine tracked the man’s movements as he approached the cash register with an armful of clothes that he placed onto the counter. Aomine gave his customary rehearsed lines, “Did you find everything okay?” before reaching to scan the first item without really waiting for a confirmation. He avoided eye contact as his hands brushed against the fabric of the shirt he had seen him try on earlier.

Without thinking Aomine murmured, “These looked seriously good on you.”

There was a beat of silence before Aomine realized that he had actually spoken his thoughts. With widened eyes he raised his eyes to the man’s face who was mirroring his expression. The stranger recovered first, his face breaking out into an amused smile. After making a show of glancing at his name tag, he replied, “I’m glad that you think so, Aomine.”

 _Oh, fuck._ Aomine tried to ignore the warmth that he felt bloom in his chest when he heard the man say his name coupled with his upturned lips. The redhead’s smile was unexpected, to say the least, but he didn’t dislike it. Truthfully, the only expressions he had ever seen the man make were his neutral face, and a look of slight dissatisfaction when a piece of clothing didn’t quite fit to his liking. No, he didn’t dislike his smile at all.

For a long moment Aomine was at a loss for words, his hands unconsciously clutching and wrinkling the shirt as he stared. “I, um, yeah. For--for sure.” _Smooth._ “Y-you,” he cleared his throat and forced himself to focus on scanning articles of clothing, “You seem to be a fan of this store, huh? I mean, uh... You come around a lot, but I never caught your name.” He could feel the stranger’s stare pierce him as his heart beat furiously in his ears and ended up fumbling with the price tag on a pair of jeans.

Aomine was glad that he controlled his urge to avert his eyes as the redhead answered. For his efforts, he was rewarded with the sight of the small smile on the stranger’s face evolving into a full grin. A grin that exuded warmth. _No, don’t just stare at him you freakin’ idiot._ “You--you don’t really have to answer if you don’t want to--” _Of course that was a dumb thing to ask. Your hands stopped moving again and--_

The redhead let out a hearty laugh that nearly made Aomine jump. Shit, he could really get used to the sound. “Don’t worry about it man. Yeah, this store has a nicely priced selection, and it’s in a convenient location for me.” He extended his hand, “I’m Kagami Taiga.”

He stared dumbly at the man’s -- no -- at _Kagami’s_ outstretched hand, before wiping his palm on his jeans and accepting the handshake. Kagami had a nice and strong grip. “Aomine Daiki. It’s nice to finally be introduced, Kagami.” If he had drawn out the syllables of Kagami’s name, he would deny it later. And if he lingered a little bit before withdrawing his hand from the other’s grip, he would _vehemently_ deny that later too.

“So, Aomine...” Kagami leaned against the counter. “When do you get off of your shift?”

Aomine turned his head to squint at the back wall clock, “Uh, I should be ending soon... Why?” He finished up ringing up the items and read the total as he reached for a bag.

“I was wondering if you wanted to go get something to eat with me.” Kagami pulled out his wallet and passed him two cards. One was his credit card, the other his business card.

He wasn’t sure if he heard the other correctly. “You what?” Aomine gaped at the fancy lettering on the business card. “W-wait, you’re...? _You’re_ the head chef at _The Ace of Spades_?!” Aomine suddenly felt like he was meeting with a celebrity. _The Ace of Spades_ was one of his favorite restaurants, and he frequented there often.

“I’ve seen you drop by a lot, too. You always order the same thing.” Kagami smirked. “It’s easy to spot you from the kitchen.”

“Well, wow. Aren’t you the stalker?” _Way to be the pot calling the kettle black._

“Really? You aren’t really any more innocent with the way that you seem to like ogling my backside.” Kagami remarked, casually. 

Aomine’s heart rate skyrocketed. “What makes you think that?!” After quickly finishing the transaction and handing back the other’s credit card, he gazed at the business card once more in need of a distraction to calm his thundering heart, suddenly noticing the handwritten phone number scrawled across the back of the card.

“Dude it’s a huge mirror, and I’m not blind. I can tell when someone is staring at my ass, since my eyes are up here.” He snorted and made a dramatic movement motioning to his face, a mischievous look in his eyes.

He was so sure he had been discreet. Aomine felt his face flush, but kept his gaze trained on the phone number, his eyes tracing the strokes. He could barely manage to scoff, “You have quite the imagination.” He really needed to collect himself, or he felt like he was going to explode.

Kagami laughed easily. “Yeah, yeah. Anyway... Is that a yes?” Kagami gathered his bags, tucked his credit card back into his wallet, and waited.

 _Holy shit. This is happening._ “I...” Aomine took a deep breath and flashed a grin. There was no way he was going to pass this up. “It’s a hell yes.”

Kagami allowed another grin to grace his lips as he started heading for the door. “Great. I’ll be back to pick you up in a bit then. I need to drop off this stuff at my place first.”

“Yeah, no problem.” As soon as he heard the bell chime, he called out to Kagami’s retreating figure out of habit. “Thank you. Please come again.”

Kagami paused to throw another sly smile over his shoulder, “Of course.” 

And then he was gone.

Aomine felt himself slump over the counter, threw an arm over his eyes, and grinned to himself. _I guess slow business days aren’t so bad after all._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just really like the idea that Aomine has small freak outs in his head, but looks calm and collected on the outside. Also stuttering is good. 
> 
> Kagami the flirting power bottom. xD


End file.
